Come Closer, Sabrina
by forgetmenots27
Summary: As Sabrina snacks contently on an apple wedge on the back pew of the Academy of Unseen Arts' worship room, she sees none other than Nicholas Scratch-the leading man to play Lucifer in the upcoming play-approach her. He seems eager to rehearse lines with Sabrina, who seems a little hesitant for the interaction. As Nick becomes too in-character, Sabrina doubts his initial intention
1. Chapter 1: Don't you Want Me

[_**The following dialogue is from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2, Ep. 2. I claim that the dialogue is only an excerpt from the writers, and by no means are creatively mine. I use them solely as inspiration for a storyline**_]_  
_  
"Lillith, why do you lie so far away from me. Come closer."

"I will not lie beneath you, but only by your side."

"Is that what you said to your husband, Adam? Aren't you cold, woman?"

"Yes. I've been _cold_ since the garden."

"Come closer, then...and I'll keep you warm."

…

"You're shivering...what are you so a'freightened of?

As Nicholas' right arm extends out to Sabrina's shoulder, _Flashes of her being with Harvey zoom through her mind._

"You should really be doing this with Dorkus."

Nick looks down and lets out a quick snigger. "Sabrina."

"Sorry Nick, but I should go."

This dialogue kept running through Nicholas' mind. He really liked Sabrina, even though warlock he is, sometimes did not understand all of her half-mortal ways. _Why must she be so aloof and unavailing to my gestures and words_, he thought to himself. But still, he knew that he had a task at hand, something that he could not fully know what exactly at times, but...something was affecting his interaction with her.

Before Sabrina got away from Nick, he grabbed hold of her arm, looking so passionately in her sparkly, hopeful eyes.

"Sabrina, do you not like me? Am I not as good as that mortal friend of yours?" said he, almost automatically.

"You mean, Harvey?" She stepped back, almost suspicious. Could Nick read her thoughts, now?

"Yes. Please, Sabrina, I really like you...more than a friend." Nick confessed. His look still seemed a bit curious, his face white, his eyes large and dark-much darker than normal.

Sabrina's heart thumped, and she seemed slightly terrified.

"Look, Nick..._Nicholas_...it's-there is a lot going on right now, with this play and the Lupercalia happening soon and all." Sabrina did not actually know what Lupercalia was at the moment, for she had only seen posters advertising the event around the Academy of Unseen Arts premises.

"Lupercalia?" Nick rephrased, and continued on to Sabrina's relief. "That is actually what I wanted to talk to you about." He reached down in his pockets and pulled out what seemed to be a card decorated with hearts. He handed it to Sabrina, while he caressed the tops of her hands.

"Aw, a Valentine's?" Sabrina responded, but almost instantly upset with herself for letting that word slip.

Before Nick could think of a response, he got up from the pew, quickly wrapped his arms around Sabrina and gave her a sensual kiss on her delicate, cherry-like lips.

Sabrina did not find herself slipping away. She allowed the sensations to take over her, even if briefly. She knew that if she did not make a move to stop this interruption, that she might regret the events to follow in continuation.

"Nick, I don't really feel comfortable doing this with you here. I mean, Dorkus is right over there looking at her lines. I'm sure she caught a glimpse of us." Sabrina decided to sit down again and study Nicholas' face, flushed with a rosy hue.

"Sabrina, I love you. I need to tell you something before-"

But suddenly, Nick's words stopped and he seemed to freeze on the spot! Sabrina instantly noticed, and also looked around to see if anything else was in motion. No.

_Pop!_

Out of thin air, Sabrina's Auntie Hilda came into view, yellow-faced and poorly made-over as usual, but always so sweet.

"_Sabrina," _she whispered. "Luckily I have been watching this fellow warlock of yours-handsome _devil_." She began.

But Sabrina grew more troubled. "Aunt Hilda, aren't you not allowed here? Didn't Father Blackwood and the Council expel you from the premises?" She touched her cheeks with both hands, noticing how cold they felt, even after such an intimate bind with Nick.

"Yes, well, you know about _astro-projectin'_ and all. Listen, don't say I didn't warn you, but I think there might be something going on with your friend Roz. You see, Harvey came over-"

"He did?" Sabrina almost startled at the sound of his name.

"Well, yes. He came over, but he said that he wanted to talk to you about some school dance at Baxter High."

Aunt Hilda had a way of belaboring a point, let alone not being direct with her words. But Sabrina appreciated the time and care that she would put into making sure Sabrina was always safe and happy.

Just then, one of those chirping, fidgety warning finches came down on Sabrina's shoulder, indicative of Hilda's lack of time projecting.

"Aunt Hilda, this is what you came to tell me?"

"No, Sabrina. This Nick kid," she indicated with her eyes, "is not trustworthy in his affections for you. For the moment, try and break apart from him whenever you find an excuse."

And that was all Aunt Hilda would be able to say, for her image evaporated, and everything settled back into real time-Nick knowing what happened.

But before Nick could speak to reveal the fact of what took place, Sabrina chimed in, per usual.

"Nick, I really have got to go work on memorizing some more of Lillith's lines...I am the _understudy_ after all, and I just don't feel like I would be ready to step in out of nowhere, you know. I'll see you later." Sabrina allowed herself to leap out of the scene that she thought seemed to linger a little too much.

She did really find Nick intriguing, strikingly dark, mysterious, and _handsome_ if any other word would do him justice. But maybe he seemed a bit too dark and mysterious for her to get over at the present. _What had come over him_, she thought. _He seemed to be overtaken by some unearthly energy _she kept thinking.

_Wait...no-it couldn't be._

Was Nick really possessed by someone, or something? It seemed rational enough for Sabrina, being half-witch and all. It was a coincidence, after all, that the play about the Dark Lord was happening, and that she would be understudy. And why would Hilda, dear Auntie Hilda, waste such a visit (Sabrina knew that "waste" would be a good word for it, because Aunt Hilda would rather entertain her time with something before her) to only _warn_ her?

Sabrina thought that maybe she should talk to Harvey, to see what he wanted to talk to Sabrina about. That was the only thing that seemed to make any sense right now, and it would be the only thing with which Sabrina had the mind to resolve. She knew she could not think about practical things at the time. There was so much captivating her energies, that she just could not bring herself back to "reality"-which was a word that had no meaning for her anymore. What was real? What was an illusion? What was altogether just not even there, and maybe she was so delusional and crazy that her mind had gotten the best of her.

_No. I am a witch. This is normal. _

Yes, she would have to redefine what normal would be to her, so that she could face things head-on, instead of allowing other people to overextend their energies to help her, which is how she felt about Aunt Hilda's visit after thinking about it. Nick's attitude and demeanor was not like him, yes, but she also knew that he was getting into character for the play. A play about...she didn't want to say. As much as she loved her powers and new intrigue, she hated admitting sometimes that her life was sort of demonic, just by default, and she could not really change that, much as she wanted. _What was, is._

She would play it out as something already written. She was what she would read about in those current on-trend books about Vampires, Witches, and the occult altogether. She was just a character, just like Nicholas, that had to carry out her role. And that was what helped her get through the rest of that day, and also grant her some sort of hope in fulfilling what at the moment seemed uncertain.

_I am a witch, a half-witch. But I am also half-mortal. Deal with it. Make it your own. Determine what suits you, and what is just a distraction-an unnecessity. I like Nick, but I also have feelings for Harvey...and if what Aunt Hilda says is true, then I should heed to her counsel and act accordingly._

_Period. _Was her final word to herself before making a phone call to Harvey.

…

(The story will now turn to _Nicholas's perspective _on the scenes just played out.)

"You're shivering...what are you so a'freightened of?" said I, seductively.

Those eyes of hers are so piercing, so sexy, and those lips are so fragile-looking and eager for attention. Yet, she seems taken aback in the most uncomfortable way. Why can't she see that we'd be perfect together? Am I not handsome enough for her? No, that can't be. I want her to see me as I want her to see me. I am _damn sexy_, so that can't be it. She seems reserved and distant, even after all my attempts to make her feel easy; Open.

I keep my arm extended out to her to show commitment to not only this dialogue, but to my affections for her, also. Can't she _feel _it? What I feel? What a curse-ed life she must live to not want affection from such a _fine_ specimen. I am not vain or narcissist, just speaking of my own physical truths. I am honest. I am diligent. Does Sabrina not admire these qualities of a man? For a man? For a _warlock_ as myself? I must convince her otherwise. Here. Now. Time must not slip away from me, from this moment, from us in this intensely romantic moment. I am a romantic, and for that I want her to see. Perhaps that is what she desires: a mysterious, _romantic, spellbinding warlock_. What better words are there? Maybe a bit sinister? Perhaps. But as I am a warlock, and by the _Book of the Beast_, I am encouraged, obliged by the Dark Lord to follow thru my impulsive nature; '_Let the ways of the Dark Lord urge you to find exultation and delight in one's misdoings. Let not what others around you influence the fulfillment of those desires.' _

Alas, I retire. She looks tired and tried. She thinks of something, of _someone_ of whom I know. A mortal beast. How could she even fathom the idea?__

"You should really be doing this with Dorkus."

I look down and sort of chuckle-no, snigger is the best way to describe it.

"Sabrina."

"Sorry Nick, but I should go."

She looks ill. Is there something behind me?

Before she gets away, let me act on said impulse. I instinctively grab hold of her feminine arm, and yes, I gaze-no, I speak of my passions thru my eyes to hers.

"Sabrina, do you not like me?" I say, almost mesmerized. "Am I not as good as that mortal friend of yours?" I let these words flow freely and in perfect time. Should I have not mentioned him? It does not matter…

"You mean, Harvey?" she answers. So young and innocent-looking, with that bleachy, doll-like hair. Why must she _tempt_ me so. Though, the sound of his name irks me. That mortal. Am I not more than mortal for her? I caress that same hair of which I detail, and continue my dark, boyish charm. I command her attention.

"Yes. Please, Sabrina, I really like you...more than a friend."

It is here I confess the inner-workings of my desires. She intrigues me. I feel pale, my eyes must be large for her to _see_ me better with. Am I not anymore luxurious? She cannot evade this _hellishness_.

I see her half-mortal heart working very hard. _Pitter-patter...thump...ba-dump...bah. _She looks at me as if she hath seen the Dark Lord himself. _Terrified_.  
"Look, Nick..._Nicholas_...it's-there is a lot going on right now, with this play and the Lupercalia happening soon and all."

Ah, she speaks of _Lupercalia._ A change of topic, but one that follows my innermost requests.

"Lupercalia?" I interject, with a much lighter tone of which relief strikes that cute face. "That is actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

I search the pockets of my favorite _Dockers _dress pants, and relinquish my will on construction paper. Let me feel those soft, supple hands as I extend this favor.

"Aw, a Valentine's?" were her words. Mortals are so funny that way. Instead of a simple, but necessary _thank-you_, they express themselves with morsels of evadable questions. But still, she seems the most sincere, here and now. Here and now. I _must._

Let me enwrap those strawberry, pencil-like lips with my delicious, sumptuous ones. I take what is thou in front of me, and I _savor_ every mortal _second,_ as they speak.

She does not disavow to my trespasses. I must continue my dark thoughts, my lusty appraisal.

"Nick, I don't really feel comfortable doing this with you here. I mean, Dorkus is right over there looking at her lines. I'm sure she caught a glimpse of us."

She withdraws from me. Oh how I wish Dorkus would _break her leg_, as they say, so that my faithful Sabrina could be my leading _Lillith._

"Sabrina, I love you. I need to tell you something before-"

I am frozen, and am quite attentive to the fact. I know a spell when I feel one. I cannot move, but I do still see, unblinkingly, the scenes that materialize before me:

_Pop!  
_  
"_Sabrina...luckily I have been watching this fellow warlock of yours-handsome devil."_

"_Aunt Hilda, aren't you not allowed here? Didn't Father Blackwood and the Council expel you from the premises?"_

"_Yes, well, you know about astro-projectin' and all. Listen, don't say I didn't warn you, but I think there might be something going on with your friend Roz. You see, Harvey came over-"_

"_He did?"_

"_Well, yes. He came over, but he said that he wanted to talk to you about some school dance at Baxter High."_

_..._

"_Aunt Hilda, this is what you came to tell me?"_

"_No, Sabrina. This Nick kid...is not trustworthy in his affections for you. For the moment, try and break apart from him whenever you find an excuse." _

As I gain consciousness to movement, I must explain-but she is _quick! _That half-mortal.

"Nick, I really have got to go work on memorizing some more of Lillith's lines...I am the _understudy_ after all, and I just don't feel like I would be ready to step in out of nowhere, you know. I'll see you later."

And just like that, my lustful love, you destroy my senses. She leaves me here, with me to overanalyze her thoughts. Why must mortals do as such? What a senseless, useless endeavor.


	2. Chapter 2: Don't Choke

Ch.2

(3rd person perspective)

Sabrina, still worried about her interaction with Nicholas Scratch, reached into her blood-red burlap bag and pulled out her phone.

_Bring...ring...bring!_

"Hello?" answered a caring, male voice.

"Hi, Harvey?" Sabrina asked, happy to hear his voice after an interim of not speaking to him.

"Brini," he started, sounding low-key and slightly dispassioned. "I wanted to ask for your permission to take Roz out to the _Sweetheart's Dance_ on Friday, since-you know-we-"

But Sabrina knew how that sentence would end, so she took initiative to speak up and grant him what he was looking for.

"Harvey, of course it's fine...I'm thinking of taking Nicholas-Nick Scratch. I hope that is okay with you," she explained, half-hoping he would tell her that it wasn't so that she could have a reason to put the scenes of what happened with Nick in the worship room behind her.

"Yeah, Sabrina. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore," were his words; words that cut Sabrina's spirit even further.

Sabrina sighed to herself, but audible enough so that maybe Harvey could pick up on some of her distress. As she looked around the corridor and surreptitiously walked thru the cafeteria, she made every effort to evade Nicholas-she did not want another novela with him, especially the same day of which gave her a major headache. Then, she remembered everything that Auntie Hilda had said above Harvey's visit. _There was the school dance, him stopping by, wanting to ask me something, something up with Roz...Roz! That's it!_

"Harvey, my Aunt Hilda said you stopped by my house?" Sabrina rejoined the conversation.

"Um, yes. Yes I did," he said matter-of-factly. Harvey was a man of few words these days. A trusting fellow, but quiet, which made him all the more alluring.

"She had mentioned that there was something going on with Roz?" She stopped, noticing a vibrant lady with ginger locks-her Aunt, Aunt Zelda, walking out of Father Blackwood's office with the playbook in one hand, and the usual cigarette on its ring holder on the other. She was speaking aloud some of the verses that Sabrina had just recited with Nicholas in the worship room. _What a coincidence_, she couldn't help but take note.

"Oh, yeah...that. No, it was nothing...listen, Brini, I gotta go. I have some sketches of _Creature from the Black Lagoon _to pull out before getting ready to see...Roz, actually. We'll talk later."

"Okay. Lo-talk to you later." She said, almost in a whisper to not attract her Aunt's attention as Zelda walked passed a support beam obscuring Sabrina. Luckily, Sabrina was so petite she could fit behind pretty much any fixture to conceal herself. She was always so proud of that fact, ever since a little girl playing hide-and-seek with her cousin, Ambrose, who would always give up 20 minutes in.

Once the path was clear, she began making her way to her chamber for some much needed shut-eye. _At least he still calls me Brini_, she remembered as she stuck the last wedge of the apple she'd been savoring into her mouth. But everything seemed to stop just before reaching her chamber door, and Sabrina found herself suddenly choking-gasping for air.

_Cluck...Cough...Craack! _

Sabrina fainted on the spot, with her hands clasped to her throat.

…

About three or four hours passed, and Sabrina awoke to Aunt Hilda who was damping her forehead with a wet cloth. She looked around her surroundings and was content for the moment to find herself in her own, real bed at the Mortuary.

"Seemed to have choked on an apple," Aunt Hilda remarked, smiling and gazing at Sabrina with thanks. "That good old-well, young-boy, Nicholas teleported you here as soon as he could, and I had to perform the heimlich procedure on you. Messy after-effects, now isn't it?" She continued staring at Sabrina with those big, overly green, smoky eyelids.

"I don't think it was the apple, Aunt Hilda," she retorted, as she scratched an itch just on the tip of her nose. "I really think the Dark Lord is harrowing me."

Aunt Hilda carefully poured some tea into a beautiful ramekin cup, and graciously offered it to Sabrina. "A little bit of tea will do your dainty throat some good."

As Sabrina took the tea and sipped, Hilda allowed herself to elaborate on something she thought would apply to the conversation.

"Well, the Dark Lord asked me to do him a favor...you know, to show him my obedience."

"He did?" were Sabrina's curt words.

"Mhm. Surely. He likes to _test_ us witches and wizards and the like," she cleared her throat. "He gave me a small, wooden box with a sort of button on top of it...something to tempt me to press it down, perhaps."

"A wooden box? Come on, Aunt Hilda." Sabrina lay her teacup and saucer on her ornate dresser that stood beside her bed.

"Laugh it off, Sabrina, but this was nerve-racking for me." she sniffed, almost as fearful as if it were all happening again. "But, you see, when I dared to press it down, _click! _And that was it. Nothing happened. I would find that it was just a box with no sequence of horrible turn of events."

Sabrina seemed relieved, even happy. Maybe she was just happy to be home with Aunt Hilda. Her aunt did know more about being a witch that she did, after all. There would be no comparison.

"Thanks, Aunt Hilda. I feel a bit better about all of these supposed signs and whatnot. Why do you not trust Nick, though?" Sabrina did, however, want an answer to the uncanny-to say the least-visit imposed upon her in the church.

"Well, truth be told, I don't really trust any warlocks at that Academy, unfortunately. But Nick does seem different. I just advise you to use caution, 'tis all. You know Aunt Zelda is in the midst of her own interests there at the Academy with Father Blackwood and all, and doesn't have so much time to watch over you...I want you to be happy and focus on your witch-studies." Aunt Hilda grinned slightly, and touched Sabrina's forehead to monitor her temperature.

"Thanks, Auntie Hilda. He was acting a bit strange...even for a warlock. I want to say it's the play we're doing about Lucifer's first encounter with Lillith, but I felt another presence when I was with him. Something much more dark." Sabrina wanted to be honest with the only person she felt she could trust at the moment; even Aunt Zelda and Ambrose seemed different in their usual character, and Sabrina did not need the slightest deceit in such a vulnerable state. The timing was just so inconvenient and poorly-designed right now for Sabrina to be an open book with everything she was experiencing, even to spellcasting folk like herself.

"I get it. The Dark Lord's presence is stronger and more prevalent at times...it's hard to say when he'll strike. He's just an _enigma_, Zelda would put it. Something scary and lurky, for sure."

Aunt Hilda kissed Sabrina's forehead and dismissed herself for other obligations she would help resolve, as she was the only one available at the moment for the Mortuary duties. But before she left the room, she had said, "Just be your sweet little self, Sabrina, and trust what you _know._"

"Thanks, again, really." Sabrina smiled back.

"You know, I think I may actually think Nick a decent warlock-finding you stretched out on the floor in the state you were in on time…" Aunt Hilda looked down, not sure whether she should have relinquished that brainstorm, and gently clicked Sabrina's door shut as she made way down to the greenhouse

_Yeah, I suppose he can be trusted._


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Deny Me

**_Thanks for all the views! I am really interested in this Netflix show. I really like the development of the characters, and I was really inspired by how dark, yet romantic and mysterious Sabrina's world around her is. I mean, for such a light-looking, bright character, she sure seems to be the sort of Ugly-Duckling of the series. I hope you enjoy!_**

Ch.3

Night came and went fast for Sabrina. She could not get Nick off her mind. The _Sweetheart's Dance_ just a day away, and she thought she would need some answers from Nick. She knew getting him to want to go with her to Baxter High would be easy-peasy, just because how he acted with her just hours ago.

He did save her life, didn't he? He couldn't be that offkey, for if he was, he wouldn't have had any sense to send her to safety.

And with that, Sabrina slept more peacefully than many a night prior.

The next morning, Sabrina awoke to the aroma of some of delicious, cinnamon waffles. She arose with interest, and proceeded to get dressed, magically of course, and head down into the kitchen where Aunt Hilda stood, apron on and everything.

"Oh, good morning, sweetiekins," she chirped, flipping some waffle-makers over.

"Smells delicious, Aunt Hilda. What's the occasion?" Sabrina asked.

"Well, I wasn't going to say, but that boy Nicholas stopped by with some...well, look over on the table, will ya?" She said, directing Sabrina's attention to the table where she and her family ate every morning and evening.

There stood at least a three-foot yellow, ornate vase filled with the most lovely white marigolds, red roses, violet dahlias, and stuffed with baby's breath and daisies. Sabrina could not believe her eyes. What a beautiful, _expensive_ bouquet. She felt a little guilty about the gesture, but then decided to just accept it as she knew that Nick's family was well off.

"Oh, wow." Sabrina exclaimed.

"'Tis a bit awkward, Sabrina?" Aunt Hilda said, consolidating the last waffle on top of the foot-high stack she had on a crystal platter. As she motioned Sabrina to sit down at the table, Hilda indicated Sabrina to read a letter that lay wrapped around the exquisite vase.

Sabrina, knowing that there lay a lot ahead of her to resolve, did as she was persuaded to do, and read the letter. She plucked the letter from the vase, holding it with the other hand to make sure the monument would not topple over and cause an unnecessary conundrum.

Of course the letter would be enveloped in the finest silk. _Different_, she thought, as she was accustomed to a normal paper, or _Papyrus _as an encasement for one's writings to another. As she carefully removed the royal-purple silk, she felt the card. It felt so smooth and sturdy. _What a charmer_, she would think. The cover was a mantra that read, 'Do not what you are told, but act upon what gifts surround you.'

Sabrina briefly put down the card to take a bite of her decadent waffle, thanking Aunt Hilda who gestured with her jaw to continue reading.

As she opened it, very slowly as to not startle herself if it were enchanted (she knew now that caution had to be taken with any outside sources), she glanced at fine penmanship; beautiful calligraphy that had to belong to no other than...Nicholas.

Sabrina,  
Please don't take the other day, yesterday, the wrong way. You do things to me...that I've never felt with anyone else before. You are really the only light in my life these days. I hope you will join in on the Lupercalia festivities tomorrow. I hope you are feeling better! Also, I got you this card because the cover says it all! It reminded me of you, and how much joy you bring to your surroundings.

I really do...like you!

Nicholas Scratch  
P.s. I know white marigolds are your favorite!

A tear almost fell down Sabrina's face. _How sweet! _She was glad that someone cared enough to see her so happy as she was at this setting. What fresh flowers, a lovely breakfast display, and so much to look forward to! Yet, she would not show the eerie feelings that lay beneath. Although incredibly happy and even joyous, she knew that this scene would persist and develop into something more..._demonic._ She couldn't help it. She was half-witch. It was the way of life.

More importantly, however, Nicholas Scratch lingered in her mind. _He must really like me as he indicates. There is so much going on, I'll just exonerate Nicholas from his questionable behavior yesterday._

"Thanks again, Aunt Hilda. You killed them waffles!" said Sabrina, materializing a wind-coat from her mind onto her shoulders.

"No problem my little, sweet Sabrina." she said in a cheery way. "Have fun tonight, if I don't see you a'fore then."

Sabrina nodded, gave a mischievous grimace, and vanished on the spot.

_Whip!_

Sabrina instantly landed on her bed, in the ladies' chamber at the Academy. She knew instinctively that someone was eyeing her fiercely. Dorcas.

Dorcas got up from her seat, and trodded her way to Sabrina.

"Sabrina, what exactly do you think you were doing yesterday in the middle of rehearsal?" Dorcas said, trying to play innocent. Her face seemed innocent and girly enough, perhaps inexperienced even, but she was as fiendish as they get: jealous and vindictive. Two very bad words to group together, but ones that describe people like Dorcas very well.

Who did Dorcas think she is to act out the way she is? _She's not Nick's girlfriend, even if at one time she shared him with two of the other Weird Sisters: Agatha and Prudence! Ugh. Prudence.  
_  
"I was rehearsing lines with _Lucifer,"_ retorted Sabrina.

"Oh, Lucifer, huh? Are you sure you weren't creating your own dialogue with Nicholas Scratch?" Dorcas continued on, smug and lazy-eyed.

"I'm sure," replied Sabrina, calmly and curtly. She didn't need to explain herself to someone as dumb as Dorcas. _It's fitting that your name is Dork-us._

"Well-" Dorcas started, sounding frustrated and at a loss, "you just...you better not take away what's rightfully mine! You are just the _understudy_ little girl."

"Little girl? That's really mature, Dorcas." Sabrina interjected, letting out a quick snicker.

"Whatever." And just like that, she stomped her feet and mechanically spun around, and got lost in the dark corridor.

_I had that coming sooner or later. We did basically makeout while you were rehearsing the lines that you'd recite to Nick. I guess he just likes me better. _These thoughts were things Sabrina wished she could say to Dorcas, but knew, again, that it would be wisest to not get Dorcas even more worked up.

Sabrina began writing some detailed outline as to what her obligations were for that day. Classes, yes of course. Nick, there was not getting around it. Dorcas...well, check!

"Not bad!" Sabrina said in vain.

But Sabrina had forgotten all about bigger ceremonies to contend with. She still did not know exactly what entailed _Lupercalia_, and how was she going to sidetrack Nick into going to the Baxter High's _Sweetheart's Dance_. Oh, if only she knew what she was in for…


	4. Chapter 4: Rosae, et Sericum Litterae

_**So, I wanted to keep Nicholas' perspective going. I think this is where I get the most creative, and a little maniacal in the process. It is in these scenes where the reader gets a sense of how out-of-hand warlock emotions can get, and how far they'll go to entertain their infatuations and impress the one's they long for...Enjoy!**_

(Nick's perspective)

Oh, my sweet, sweet _Valentine._ Oh, if my succulent Sabrina could only see how much I melt for her.

I know! I will make her the most flamboyant, outstanding display of my affections! What do mortals do in such measures? Let me see.

I look through the Academy of Unseen Arts library, and I browse mortal novels by what they call _genre. _Let's see...I see _Fifty Shades of..._.no.

What about _The Adventures of Huckle..._no.

_Gone With the..._no.

None of these will do, for I have heard the most disastrous tales from distant mortals, as I watch them in their ordinary lives, trying to find something _interesting_ to do with themselves. What fools. They spend hours and hours laboring for other people.

I touch my face. My sensuous face. Why has Sabrina not noticed my appeal? Where did I miss a step towards captivating her as mine? My skin is so supple, so young and lustrous. My hair just the same, just as vibrant. Ah! Yes! Vibrant!

I think of those colorful lawn ornaments that grow in the Spring! Those bulbs of color and shape! What are they called...hm, let me see here…

I look through more books. What is it that I fancy? Ah! There! I see, perched at the very top-of course it would be the top! A book on...hold on, let me steal it out of thin air.

_Swish!_

The book appears before me. Aha, yes, I do recognize this word: Flou...Flowers.

I swish and swack my thoughts abound the room, transforming the floor and the shelves into my private garden. Father Blackwood will not see me.

_Solo ligno solum crescere flores suppone Calore!_

Aha! What color! Sabrina shall be woo-ed. What else do I do? I shall pluck these from the ground they have risen, and place them in...let's see...page 57...vase! I do know what this is, silly me.

_Vas Video, Volo Vase, et flores coram me!_

I dance to this lavishness! She-Sabrina-ah, Sabrina...what a lovely name. It lingers on my tongue.

How I long to touch that skin, those hands, that white hair. She will be so infatuated with this grand gift of mortal kind! Oh, mortal _magic._ How simple, yet so meaningful.

Let me pen my name, and write a love note, as _they_ do on this day, Valentine's. Let me guess:  
_Dear Patricia (just for fun, I create my own as if I were some other mortal pining over a girl),_

_You make my heart pound so. I wuff you. Be mine...Kiss me! Why do you tantalize my inner fantasies to a degree of which Pompeii could not even surmount to. What heavenly goddess Hera-no, Aphrodite-would envy of! You are the Dorothy to my Wizard, the Glinda to my Elphaba, the Edward to my Bella. I am the Beast, and you are the…(what was her name? OH, IT DOES NOT MATTER)...Beatle. Be my Valentine!_

_Bah,  
Bernard_

This must do, simply a casual, mortal way of communicating. Something like (and of which I'll edit later):

_Sabrina,_

_Sorry about my affinity towards you the other day-yesterday-I do not know what came over me. You do things to my...like no other mortal has done before, or half-mortal for that matter. I cannot wait 'til Lupercalia. You are a light! You bring so much joy to me, and only me! I really do...love you! I am jealous of your mortal friend Harvey no more. Be it as it may! Hooray!_

_Regards,  
Nicholas Scratch  
P.s. I know white marigolds are your favorite because I can find my resources._

I look at this and confirm that maybe I need an editor. Shall I take this to the Dark Lord himself? Perhaps not. I suppose I could muster my energies for such a splendid time in warlock activities. Oh, I ramble on and don't make sense to myself, even. I retire, but I send these gifts and my new letter the morn of which Sabrina awakens, peacefully.  
_  
Expergiscimini surgat et in pace, ut vides, rosae, et sericum litterae_

…  
I find myself in the library, but as to my intentions am not so sure. Awaken from some sort of sleep...what are these petals on the ground?  
_  
_I am not what I think...Something controls me. I look around and wonder why I am here. What scenes just passed before me?


	5. Chapter 5: Don't Forget Lupercalia

Ch. 5

"Aunties, what is Lupercalia?" asked Sabrina, yawning as she awakes.  
Her pajamas are red and white, with little reindeer on them, fitting for the day's celebrations at the Academy of Unseen Arts. She acts as though she dismisses all that has happened to her the proceeding two days. As she pets her familiar, Salem, and takes a toast out of the toaster, she allows herself to sit down at the head of the table. Aunt Zelda puffs on her cigarette while reading a column titled _Don't Be a Witch, Make it Happen! _Written unsurprisingly by the writer of the infamous play Sabrina would have to carry out if Dorcas should fall sick to...the chicken pox: Father Blackwood. And Aunt Hilda knits a warm, cozy navy scarf while hovering in front of her a book titled _The Lost Loves of Lupercalia_. Ambrose, however, is not seen which is odd.

Aunt Zelda lowers her article, and looks over her glasses at Sabrina as she flicks the ashes off her cigarette. _Tick-tick!_

"Lupercalia stems back to the Romans, the famed twins era of Romulus and Remus." Zelda began, presuming her role as speaker...until Aunt Hilda cuts in.

"It's really like the mortal _Valentine's Day, _Sabrina," said Hilda, looping her needle around a string of yarn.

"Vastly different, Hilda. Vastly."

"Not really, though…" were her words in defense.

Zelda shudders off Hilda's comment as if she were not important to the conversation. "Sabrina, Lupercalia is sort of a dating ritual to promote fertility-"

"_Sex!" _Aunt Hilda cried out, almost mockingly, in spite of Zelda's efforts to elaborate.

"Very good, Hilda…" Zelda affirms, patting Hilda lackadaisical on the shoulder. "Yes. Sex. S-E-X."

"I can spell it!" Hilda continues.

Sabrina lets out a brief laugh, but makes sure to follow up with this new information.

"So, it's basically just a little bit more...explicit than Valentine's is," she summarized. Just then, Salem jumped on the table and meowed, almost as to alert Sabrina. "Down, Salem!"

Zelda flipped a few pages of her newspaper article to a headline titled _Lupercalia: What You Really Need to Know_. Sabrina glanced at it-briefly, as Zelda knew that there were some risque photos attached.

"Sabrina, Lupercalia is like a _Field Day_ full of events that challenge its contestants to prove their lust for another." Zelda flipped her hand and _zing!_ A whiteboard and dry-erase marker float in front, so that Zelda can draw a mapping-out of her details. "You see this triangle represents the three tiers of the Lupercalia: the matching, where you dance around a Maypole-"

"'Tis sort of like musical chairs, now _isn't it,_ little Sabrina." Hilda retorted, Zelda conjuring up a masking tape around her mouth this time, for no more interruptions. Hilda squirmed around a little, playfully and mockingly, just to show her annoyance with Zelda at the moment.

"The _courting_ is my personal favorite, as you have to-"

Hilda chimed in again, this time splicing herself into another copy-one that had her mouth available. "Lay all night with the one you've matched!"

"Oh, for Satan's sakes, Hilda! Would you _quit?"_

But this time Sabrina stepped in. "I actually like Aunt Hilda's portrayal, Auntie Zee, if that's okay."

"Oh, _fine, _then." Zelda allowed Hilda's fits of _child_ as she would describe them persist, though not undoing her masking-tape spell. "The _hunt_, or I like to call it by its more traditional term, _feast_, is where the raunchier stuff plays out...yes, Hilda, _SEX._"

Hilda snickered, underneath the tape.

"Did I say it clearly enough for you."

But Hilda spoke only with her eyebrows, indicating how hilarious she found this moment.

Sabrina leaned in closer and placed her elbow upon the table, her hand on her chiseled jaw.  
"What is the hunt, just literally what it sounds like?"

Aunt Hilda dropped dead on the floor, literally.

"_Oh_, I'll deal with you later," responded Zelda, but _Shwim! _Hilda arose from the dead! "Well, sort of. Except, this year it is the men-the warlocks-that are hunted down by their courters: the witches."

"Aw, I get it! Sort of like an adult version of hide-and-seek," Sabrina intrigued.

"More like an adult version of freeze-tag, if you've ever played. It also deals with animal sacrifice, the consumption of their bodies, and smearing of milk on one's forehead...what else...oh, did I mention _SEX _yet?" as to get Hilda's fit of hilarity once more.

"So, do I actually have to engage in the...sex?" Sabrina added, wanting whatever clues and advice she could get to arsenal-prepare herself.

"_I _would," replied Aunt Zelda effortlessly.

"_Hm hmm hm hmm hmmm hmhmm-hm!" _added Hilda, looking like a madwoman, and still very inaudible.

"Sabrina, do what you _feel_, is all I _advise."_

"Alright! I suppose I could just join in on the day's adventures and see what's up. I mean, it couldn't hurt to give it a _try._"

Zelda smiled fiercely back at Sabrina. "That's a _good _girl," she said, praising Sabrina's words of acceptance, or semi-acceptance. Zelda had BIG plans ahead, and she would need Sabrina to step up her game in terms of the _Path of Night._ She still seemed too playfully innocent, Aunt Zelda would describe, while Aunt Hilda would continue encouraging Sabrina to take things slow, _comfortably._

Aunt Hilda seemed to get herself together, and was luckily relinquished from Zelda's spell, as Zelda was distracted enough reading the articles about The Academy. Hilda got up from her seat, enchanted a spell, and _whip!,_ the center of the table was occupied by a mesmerizing bouquet of flowers in a yellow, ornate vase.

"Just make sure you're matched with that handsome _devil, Nicholas Scratch_." Aunt Hilda winked at Sabrina, gave a playful _hmph! _directed at Zelda, and left the table to wash some dishes. Even witches like ordinary tasks.

_Right, Nicholas. _Sabrina would think to herself. Was it all a dream that Sabrina imagined petals on the soiled floor of the Academy's library? Where she felt she was being brought into a scene that may have happened simultaneously to something important she was doing?

_The choking on the apple…_

_Him saving me…_

Why did she not feel the same when she revisited these subconscious thoughts that tend to escape one's mind after r.e.m. sleep?

_Nick is crazy, that's for sure. Nick is crazy...crazy because of me?_


End file.
